NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent non-profit research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to support key strategies and decision-making of governments, foundations, corporations, and nonprofit organizations. Clients around the world partner with NORC to transform increasingly complex information into useful knowledge in NORC’s major substantive areas -- economics, justice and society; education and child development; health and well-being; public affairs and media; and international programs – and on emerging topics.

For over 80 years, NORC has conducted groundbreaking studies on critical issues, created and applied innovative methods and tools, and upheld the highest standards of scientific integrity and quality. NORC has been a pioneer in data collection, management, analysis, and dissemination, and a leader in advancing statistical and methodological science. NORC’s success derives from its unique combination of bringing scientific rigor and insight to solve practical challenges, entrepreneurial innovation, close affiliation with the University of Chicago, and our mission of providing trustworthy data and research.

Over time, NORC has evolved in many ways, moving the needle with research methods, technical applications, and groundbreaking research findings. Our tradition of excellence, passion for innovation, and commitment to collegiality have remained constant components of who we are as a brand, and who each of us is as a member of the NORC team. With world-class benefits, a collegial environment, and an emphasis on continuous learning, NORC is a place where people join for the stellar research and analysis work for which we’re known, and stay for the relationships they form with their colleagues who take pride in the impact their work is making on a global scale.

Headquartered in downtown Chicago, NORC maintains major offices in Washington, DC, and on the University of Chicago campus, along with additional locations across the United States.

The Senior Vice President (SVP) for Statistics and Data Science (SDS) provides overall leadership and direction for the SDS department as part of the organization’s senior leadership team within the Research Science (RS) division. Reporting to the Executive Vice President and Chief Scientist for RS, the Senior Vice President has overall responsibility for promoting NORC’s mission and goals; contributing to company‑wide strategy and operational management; and developing NORC’s capabilities in statistics, data science, artificial intelligence, data integration, and emerging methods in ways that advance NORC’s research portfolio.

The SVP/SDS will join a highly collaborative senior leadership team, partnering with executive and senior leaders across NORC to deliver impact, strengthen capabilities, and grow the organization. The SVP/SDS will also be supported by a team of talented SDS vice presidents and associate directors in carrying out the strategic and operational responsibilities of running the department.

This is an exciting opportunity for an exceptional leader to join the senior leadership team of a nationally renowned organization and help shape NORC’s future as the research landscape evolves. The SVP/SDS will lead a highly successful and critical department and have hybrid cross-functional and business development responsibilities.  The position requires vision, a highly strategic mindset, proven leadership skills, extensive management experience, a highly collaborative working style, established expertise in statistics and data science, and a passion for translating key trends in the field into opportunities to achieve NORC’s business goals.

The successful candidate will build on NORC’s longstanding leadership in survey statistics, data integration, and methodological research while accelerating growth in areas such as AI/ML, machine learning, data processing pipeline development, privacy and confidentiality protection, and high-performance computing (e.g., large-scale computation, cloud platforms). The SVP/SDS will play a critical role in positioning NORC to address changing client needs, increasing competition, and rapidly evolving technologies.

This is a hybrid role based in either our Chicago Loop or downtown Washington DC offices, with a minimum of 8 days per month in the office and occasional travel to our other offices.

Qualified applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. We regret that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

The SDS department provides the scientific foundation required to advance NORC’s project portfolio. SDS delivers rigorous, innovative, and fit-for-purpose solutions along the project lifecycle. The department provides leadership for NORC’s approach on a broad range of approaches for study design and the analysis of primary and secondary data. SDS expertise includes artificial intelligence and machine learning; Bayesian analysis; causal inference; disclosure avoidance; imputation; data linkage and statistical matching for combining multiple data sources; data quality assessment; efficient and reproducible workflow development; privacy-preserving methods; small area estimation; statistical methods for survey sampling, weighting, estimation, and inference; and visualization.

The SDS department works closely with research, technology, and operational teams across NORC to ensure that statistical excellence and innovation remain central to the organization’s work. Many of NORC’s projects and proposals are led by substantive research departments that require significant contributions from SDS staff. SDS works closely with highly collaborative groups across the organization to ensure success through cross-departmental partnerships. To further capture the innovative spirit of NORC, SDS also leads projects that target departmental focus areas. Examples of recent project topics involving SDS staff include survey design, weighting, and analysis; AI for enhancing data quality, standardization, and integration; enhancing traffic safety data; linkage of health administrative data and surveys; and testing data visualization approaches for effective communication.

SDS is composed of a geographically distributed team of over 60 professionals located across NORC offices and remote locations throughout the United States and who are engaged in an array of activities, including research and statistical operations for client projects across NORC’s portfolio, strategic research projects on emerging topics, and business development.

The pay range for this position is $285,000 to $315,000.

This position is classified as regular. Regular staff are eligible for NORC’s comprehensive benefits program. Benefits include, but are not limited to:  

NORC is committed to equity and transparency in its pay practices. We publish salary ranges and benefit information for every job. The listed hiring range reflects what we, in good faith, expect to pay at the time of posting, though actual compensation may vary and may be adjusted over time. A candidate’s placement within the range depends on factors such as competencies, education, qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and organizational needs. This role is bonus eligible.  Bonus payment is contingent upon program terms and individual performance.